Chapter 21: Huaxia University

He Yuzhu first finished making a set of coils, then found a round bucket slightly larger than the coils, slipped the finished coils into it to examine the middle gap, thought the gap was acceptable, and took the coils out.

After He Yuzhu finished wrapping the coils, he lightly scraped off the protective film on the copper wire with a small knife. Then He Yuzhu used a soldering iron to weld the two coils together. He used a needle as a splicing adjuster between them, took the wooden frame from the previous crystal radio set, and assembled the remaining parts onto the frame.

"Whether it works or not we'll see this once" he said, then He Yuzhu connected the antenna and ground wire to the crystal radio, took a deep breath, and put on the high-impedance headphones.

Zizizi, chirla—"Speaking of Wu Song arriving at Jingyang Ridge" a segment of crosstalk sound came from the earphones, He Yuzhu slapped his thigh and said "Success".

Next, He Yuzhu tried to twiddle the needle associated with the coil, after changing its angle, He Yuzhu gently turned the adjuster, the second frequency appeared, then immediately the third, then the fourth. He Yuzhu tried several more times and finally confirmed that he could receive four channels.

One could say He Yuzhu's crystal radio is among the best in the country, after all the known crystal radios can receive at most three channels, and their signals cannot be said to be as clear as He Yuzhu's.

Comrade He Yuzhu listened to the broadcast for a while longer, then suddenly there was no sound; he checked the time and saw it was already past 9 p. m., at which hour many stations had already stopped broadcasting, after He Yuzhu put away the antenna and ground wire.

Lying in bed with eyes closed, Gao Yue's image appeared in the mind of our Zhuzi, thinking "When I see Gao Yue tomorrow, I must get a good look at her shocked expression," Zhuzi fell asleep happily.

In the morning, He Yuzhu unusually changed into a fresh pair of underwear—he had to, after dreaming of Gao Yue all night, which left him feeling listless when he woke up this morning.

After washing up, He Yuzhu packed the finished crystal radio into his bag, pushed his bicycle while yawning and greeting the neighbors in the courtyard as he walked out. As he walked, he heard someone calling him from behind; turning around, he saw it was Yi Zhonghai. He waited for Yi Zhonghai to approach and asked, "Elder Yi, what's up? Do you need something?"

"Zhuzi, it's like this: the eldest son of Old Li's family in our front courtyard is preparing to get married, and they wanted to ask you to handle the banquet. Do you think you can do it?"

"Handling the banquet, Elder, do you think I can manage? I've only just finished my apprenticeship; if I screw it up for them..." He Yuzhu said while pushing his bike out of the courtyard.

"No problem, Zhuzi, I still know your cooking skills; do you think you can handle it, Zhuzi?" said Yi Zhonghai, walking beside He Yuzhu.

"All right, Elder, having me handle the banquet is a sign of respect; let's figure out the cost," He Yuzhu said, stopping and looking at Yi Zhonghai.

"Zhuzi, we're from the same courtyard, you help me, I help you—does talking about money count as being outsiders?"

"Elder, you can't say that; our trade has rules, and besides, I only stir-fry dishes—I also need helpers. Even if I don't take money, you can't make people work for free as helpers. You should discuss this with Master Li. I'm leaving now, Elder." He Yuzhu didn't give Yi Zhonghai a chance to speak, got on his bike, and rode off.

"You old helper, you're starting to scheme against me now, wanting me to work for free—no way," he thought while walking. Thus He Yuzhu rode his 28‑inch bike toward the steel mill amid envious glances.

Arriving at the steel mill cafeteria, He Yuzhu boiled a pot of water in a small pot, took a bit of the tea leaves he'd bought the previous two days, put them in the teapot and poured water over them, then sat in a chair, leisurely watching Xiao Zhang and the others work while sipping tea, acting like a wealthy landlord.

Until past ten in the morning, He Yuzhu was directing Xiao Zhang and the others in stir‑frying when he heard Yi Zhonghai's voice coming from inside the cafeteria: "Zhuzi, Zhuzi, come out a moment—I need to see you about something."

He Yuzhu thought, "This old helper never quits," gave Xiao Zhang and the others a quick instruction, then went out of the back kitchen, saw Yi Zhonghai, and said.

"Elder, what's the matter now? Do you have anything else?"

"It's still about that, Zhuzi. I discussed it with Old Li—there will be ten tables of dishes; you don't need to find helpers, we'll get a few idle women from the courtyard to help you chop vegetables, and then I'll give you three yuan. Does that work for you?"

He Yuzhu thought he shouldn't offend this old helper too much, so he nodded in agreement and added, "Elder, I agree to your terms, but I only handle the stir‑frying; I can't do any other work. If you make me do anything else for ten tables, I'll be worked to death."

"All right, Zhuzi, that's settled then. This coming Wednesday, make sure you arrange things on the cafeteria side so nothing is delayed—I'm heading back now."

"All right, Elder, rest assured nothing will be delayed."

After lunch, He Yuzhu gave Xiao Zhang and the others a brief update, then rode his 28‑inch bike toward Huaxia University; just thinking that he would soon see Gao Yue's astonished little expression made him unconsciously pedal a bit faster.

Half an hour later, at the gate of Huaxia University, looking at the university's main entrance, wearing the school badge Gao Yue had given him on his clothes, he muttered to himself, "Even I, He Yuzhu, have been to university," then pushed his bike and walked toward the university.

After entering the campus and asking around where the Department of Wireless Electronics was, He Yuzhu pushed his bike over there, watching the students of Huaxia University come and go, and felt that going to school was indeed nice.

Upon reaching the Department of Wireless Electronics, he locked his bike to one side, walked to the front of the classroom, and saw through the window that class was in session; at a glance he spotted Gao Yue, who was listening to the lecturer while taking notes.

Helpless, He Yuzhu could only return to his bike and wait for Gao Yue to finish class; fortunately the wait wasn't long, and soon he heard the dismissal bell, saw the students streaming out of the classroom doors, and instantly spotted Gao Yue. He called out twice, "Gao Yue, Gao Yue," and waved at her.

Gao Yue was walking out with her books when she heard someone calling her; she looked up and saw He Yuzhu jogging two steps to her side, smiling as she said, "Zhuzi, why did you come over today? Did you finish the crystal radio?"

Well then, you don't even bother to see who we are—I'm He Yuzhu, and not only did I make it, I can definitely shock you. Yue sis, does your school have an antenna and a ground line?

Your morals, I want to see how you manage to shock me—come with me to our school's experimental building; over there there's an antenna and a ground line. Saying this, Gao Yue, holding a book, walks ahead, taking He Yuzhu to the experimental building.